Flexible glass substrates for roll-to-roll manufacturing

Presented by Sean Garner, Gary Merz, John Tosch, Chet Chang, Dale Marshall, Xinghua Li, James Lin, Chris Kuo, Sue Lewis, Rich Kohler, Joe Matusick, Casey Kang, Corning

Substrate choice is critical for the overall optimization of flexible electronic device design, fabrication process, and performance. Glass substrates offer advantages compared to alternatives including dimensional and thermal stability, hermeticity, transparency, and surface quality. Adding to these benefits, ultra-slim flexible glass, ≤200μm thick, enables the use of glass in roll-to-roll (R2R) equipment and fabrication of ultra-thin and light weight devices. This paper discusses the benefits of flexible glass in electronic applications as well as its use in R2R fabrication processes. A description is included of proven methods for maintaining the mechanical reliability of flexible glass in R2R methods.